Being Dutch, being married to a German and having worked for the US Army in Germany, I think I am not totally wrong if I call the Netherlands 'Holland'. Especially not since recently somebody from the USA asked me if 'Netherlands was the capital of Amsterdam'!!! Most of the people in other countries use 'Holland'. Also there was a discussion, not so long ago, about how to call the 'lower countries' (or Les Pays Bas in French) on the alt.genealogy newsgroup, and most of the people there used Holland, meaning all of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. That's why I did it. Maybe this is an interesting topic for the newsgroup soc.genealogy.benelux?? Although I will not start it!!! Herma from Schiedam Fithian Jones wrote: > > Frans, > dankje, for the fine info. If only Americans were as sophisticated as the > Dutch! I spent two years in the Netherlands (never would I call it > 'Holland') and came to know and love the Dutch people mightily. There is > much to be taken from your point regarding the German-Dutch relations. I > found that the Dutch can understand the Germans, but not the other way > around. > enjoyed your bit of history... > > Fithian > ---------- > >From: [email protected] (Frans L. Scholten) > >To: [email protected] > >Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.surnames.german,soc.genealogy.surnames.global > >Subject: Re: BOEKENKAMP; DEU; 1836- > >Date: Thu, Sep 23, 1999, 5:13 PM > > > > >Re: BOEKENKAMP; DEU; 1836- > > > >On 23 Sep 1999 11:01:19 GMT, Herma Gumpert <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > >Herma, > > > >Please realise that is better to use the correct name for your country > >(and mine): the Netherlands. For others who do not know that: > >'Holland' is only the western part of it, around Amsterdam and > >Rotterdam. There are just two provinces with that name: North and > >South Holland. > > > >Calling the Netherlands 'Holland' is equivalent to calling everyone in > >the USA a "New Yorker' or everyone in Germany a Bavarian. Such a thing > >is a 'pars pro toto' (the part is used instead of the whole). > >So 'Holland' and Germany are not close together ;-) > > > >Some hundreds of years ago, there were only dialects, which varied > >slightly from place to place. There were no official 'Dutch' or > >'German' languages as we know them now. > > > >'Boekenkamp' sounds like an old East-Netherlands name to me, or > >possibly a West-German one. I suppose that the part 'boeken' was > >pronounced as the Dutch word 'beuken', which means in english: 'beech > >tree'. > > > >Then 'kamp'. In the east of the Netherlands 'kamp' meant a piece of > >farmland, used for crops (not a meadow).The word is still used in many > >dialects. So I think, "Boekenkamp' means a piece of land (partly) > >surrouded by beech trees. In the east of the Netherlands, some > >centuries ago farmland was surrounded by fences or bushes (Dutch: > >houtwallen) to protect the crops from cattle. To the contrary, the > >meadows had no fences and cattle was garded by shepherds and little > >children. > > > >Probably, the Boekenkamp family started out by building a house on or > >right next to farmland with beech trees around it. > > > >Frans. > > > > > >[email protected] (Frans L. Scholten) > > > > > >============================== > >Support free genealogy on the Internet! Join RootsWeb.com today! > > > > > > "Fithian Jones" <[email protected]>